Sally and Jonathan: Married and MerryGreetings! With family members in North Carolina, California, New York, Canada, and overseas in France, England and Wales it just made sense to post stuff here we'd like to share
In addition to providing logistical information about the wedding and subsequent receptions and celebrations, there is also some of "our relationship story" and a few family photographs. Please keep checking back as we will be adding to this site all year long! May Trip to Bulith and Paris March Trip to Italy |
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Recap of 2001 Events:
People have asked "Why Wales?" Well, because of Sally, of course! "My father, Walter Hugh Bradley was born in 1928 in Builth Wells, Wales to George and Evelyn Bradley (Poppa and Nanna). Of their five children, Walter was the second oldest... Anne was the eldest, then Walter, John, Colin and the baby, David! Poppa and Nanna ran Bradley's, the hardware, china and toy store which occupied a prominent location on the main street of Builth Wells until the late 1990's. The Bradley's business has supported four generations of Bradley's and continues to do so today in Landrindod Wells. Walter left Builth Wells to go to Oxford University where amongst the parties and socializing, he managed to earn a degree in Philosophy, Latin and Greek. After a stint in the army, he decided (as many young people were doing at the time) to search for his fortunes in Canada. There he met my mother, Sheila Joan Webb (now Hill) who was vacationing in Canada with my grandmother, Ethel Webb. Sheila chose not to return to England at the end of the trip and within a year or two she and Walter were married in Toronto. Within the year of my birth, Walter and Sheila decided to return to their roots and traveled back to England. My early years in the beautiful west country included such delights as outhouse bathrooms at the local school, drillings at the dentist without Novocain and baked beans on toast for supper. In 1965, my world was changed and improved as I welcomed my new sister, Lucy, into the family. As with many lives, there were wonderful times and challenging times. One of the more challenging times for the family was the divorce of Walter and Sheila. However, the change in their relationship provided the opportunity for three more wonderful people to enter into Lucy and my world. Sheila met Richard and they were married and Lucy and I had a new sister, Drina. Walter met Isabelle and they too were married. Since Richard lived in Toronto, Canada, we once more crossed the great Atlantic ocean and I returned in 1971 to the land of my birth. In 1977, Lucy and I lost our father. I look forward to our upcoming wedding day in the beautiful Welsh hills as a wonderful occasion to honor my father's life and that of other family members who are no longer here on earth."
"Say...how did the two of you meet anyway?" Jonathan: "Well, late 1999, and most of 2000 was an emotionally complicated period for me. My father died unexpectedly of a heart attack on October 31st (All Saints Day) and my mother, who had been ill with complications from emphysema, died 32 days later. Mom and Dad had been married 54 years and for 47 of those years they lived in the same house at 4526 Wentworth Place in Charlotte North Carolina. Life as I knew it changed significantly. My family was now just my sister Jenny and my brother Gordon. Our front line was now gone and I felt a rawness and a depth of emotion never before touched. The funerals were moving, and beautiful celebrations of my parents' lives and I've never been more proud of my brother and sister. and how we stood together surrounded by gratitude and love. It was December 1999, while I was in North Carolina that Sally - unbeknownst to me - came into my life, or at least came into my house."
Sally: "A friend of many years, John Hadden, invited me to participate in a workshop taking place on Cape Ann in early December. I said I loved the idea and shortly thereafter John e-mailed me driving directions to Crashing Waves. Hmmm... I thought... what kind of retreat center is this Crashing Waves? It turned out that Crashing Waves was Jonathan's home and while he was in North Carolina, I had a wonderful day in his house where I met close friends of his and had some mild curiosity about the generous and absent host. About three months later, John orchestrated another workshop and again I signed up. This time, however, when I arrived at Crashing Waves it turned out that Jonathan was on-site this time. The cups of chai, bowls of popcorn, amusing stories at lunch and some impressive insights during a workshop debrief stirred my interest. As the workshop attendees drifted away it ended up with just the two of us having a lovely dinner together ... tete a tete. Next thing I knew he had a fire going....lights were low....uh oh....what's going on here I wondered... :-) "
Jonathan: " It was a wonderful evening that night after the rest of the workshop participants left... and over the next couple of weeks the phone calls and emails went back and forth. Something was undeniable here. Spring turned into Summer as we stepped up to the issues, challenges, and delightful rewards of moving into a significant relationship together. While our relationship continued to grow, and as I continued to grapple with my parent's deaths, I assumed a new role of father-to-be! Moving from losing my parents to being a parent! Death and Life, God takes away - God provides, the Circle of Life continues as I became the proud father in August of an amazing little baby girl - Elizabeth - named after my mother. Sally and Libby take center stage as the focus of my love." Sally: "I had mixed feelings about being around at this period, and even though I was curious to see how Jonathan would look upon becoming a father I also thought that Libby's expected arrival date was a golden opportunity for me to cash in some frequent flyer miles and head off to an exotic land. So in early August I left for 3 weeks in Bali where I visited wonderful sacred sites, reflected on my next steps in life, and ventured into the under seas of the Indian Ocean in my scuba gear. Given the twelve hour time difference, I greeted each morning in Bali by wishing Jonathan good night and sweet dreams as he fell to sleep the night before and I ended my day with Jonathan arising and calling me to ask about my adventures of the day and to wish me good night! There were three winners here: Me, Jonathan, and the MCI calling card! Another significant turn of events occurred the day before I left to come home, Jonathan shared with me the results of his prostate biopsy and I knew that I needed to be there with him as soon as possible." Jonathan: "Sally and I had spoken about Post Bali-Post Baby as the time to make some major personal decisions. I flew out to Los Angeles on August 24th to meet her return flight from Hong Kong. I'm feeling happy about my healthy baby daughter, distraught about the biopsy results, and thrilled to be seeing Sally. It was a joyful emotional reunion. So much going on, yet we each knew there was so much more to come. It was a time of connection and a time to address the urgency of the cancer diagnosis. With my attention divided between running my business, creating the relationship with Sally, being a good father to a newborn, and researching best practices to address the cancer, it was a full and complex Fall. Sally was steadfast with her commitment to being the best partner and medical researcher possible, and I truly do not believe I could not have done what we did alone. It was scary, and fascinating all at the same time. Thanksgiving was spent with friends in Marblehead, MA, and I realized again how good it felt to be a "couple". Christmas was in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario with Sally's mom and step-dad, plus sister Lucy and husband Ian, and friends including Barbara Axelrad and her husband Dr. Arthur - who assured me "the bigger the incision, the better the surgeon!"
And surgery was December 28th in Boston. The goal was to be home to Crashing Waves for New Year's - which was achieved! - and again Sally...how can I thank her enough for what did and who she was for me during this period. ( Her reward is...marriage?! ) New Year's Eve was, shall we say, rather subdued, compared to any previous ones, yet without a doubt one of the very best! We didn't even make it to midnight, but we did make toasts to the important things in life: Family, Friends, & Good Health!" Sally: "For those of you who know me well, Florence Nightingale is probably not what comes to mind when you think of me. And, so to tell you the truth I wasn't quite sure how well I was going to measure up in the role of Nurse Bradley. As it turned out, I found out that when I saw the man I was in love with being so strong and patient and uncomplaining I just felt that there was nothing I couldn't or wouldn't do for him. Stay at home care was the nature of our days and nights for the first half of January. ( I think JG was getting a little spoiled; he made a comment about revising his "healing schedule" to extend it to May! ) The best day was when we returned to the surgeon for the follow up visit three weeks after surgery and he told us that the biopsy report was the best possible and that Jonathan was cancer free. We hugged and cried and celebrated with coffee (decaf, of course) and bagels." Jonathan: "As my physical healing continued, it became more and more clear to me that I was healing emotionally also. The sadness I felt for what was missing in my life was being supplanted by the joy and appreciation for what I did have. Here I was fortunate to be the father to a healthy happy baby girl, privileged to be in a deep loving relationship with Sally Bradley, and lucky enough for my body to be declared cancer free! More and more I realized not only the delight, but also the completeness I felt as a result of my relationship with Sally. We'd known each other only a year, yet, oh my gawd, the distance we'd traveled and the experiences we'd shared! My good friend, and Libby's godmother, Catherine Dolcater, frequently refers to the notion of "second half of our lives". Two things had become very clear to me by March 2001:
Sally: "Prior to Christmas, the boys (Henry and Cairo, my most precious cats) and I had moved into Crashing Waves so as to be with Jonathan through the healing period. By early February, it was clear that neither Jonathan nor I was feeling any desire for me to return to Portsmouth and so we started to settle into our routine. On March 11, our one-year anniversary of meeting, we boarded an Alitalia flight to Italy for a week's vacation in Venice and Florence. For both of us it was our first visit to Italy as adults and we loved it. The art, the history, the architecture…the gorgonzola! On our third and last night in Venice, we were lucky enough to attend a wonderful performance of Symphony No. 5 by Shostakovich performed by the Venetian orchestra. Upon returning to the Palazzo San Marco, our hope had been to find a gondolier… since we had still not taken our gondola ride. We saw that all the boats were covered and the lights turned off and my heart sank. But then, I saw one last lone gondolier who was in the final stages of wrapping his gondola for the night. Jonathan hurried over to him and proceeded to enter into a fare negotiation while I held my breath hoping the gondolier would not be insulted and leave us high and dry! It all worked out to Jonathan's satisfaction, and finally we had our gondola ride under the night sky in a very quiet and still Venice. And, yes…it was there and then that Jonathan proposed to me and I said yes, that nothing in the world would make me happier!"
So, from a website perspective, I believe we’ve come full circle back to where at the beginning we talked about how family is spread out - a couple continents and heaven too. The wedding itself was on July 7th in Builth Wells, Wales at the Caer Beris Manor. Remembering that what’s important is family, friends, and health and remembering that we are eternally grateful for all that we have. If you are so inclined, donations may be made to Capcure, Childreach or Hospice, all organizations that have played a meaningful role in our lives recently. Thank you...and hope to see you soon! Jonathan and Sally
We are best reached via our e-mails: jonathan@oicgroup.com or Sally.Bradley@fmr.com |
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